WACS-TV

WACS-TV, virtual channel 25 (VHF digital channel 7), is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station serving Americus, Georgia, United States that is licensed to Dawson. Owned by the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission, the station is operated as part of the statewide Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) television network. WACS-TV's transmitter is located north of Parrott, Georgia.

WACS-TV
Satellite of WGTV, Athens/Atlanta, Georgia
Dawson/Americus, Georgia
United States
CityDawson, Georgia
ChannelsDigital: 7 (VHF)
Virtual: 25 (PSIP)
BrandingGPB
SloganTelevision Worth Sharing
Programming
Affiliations25.1: GPB/PBS
25.2: Create
25.3: GPB Knowledge
25.4: PBS Kids
Ownership
OwnerGeorgia Public Broadcasting
(Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission)
WGTV, WXGA-TV, WVAN-TV, WABW-TV, WNGH-TV, WCES-TV, WJSP-TV, WMUM-TV
History
First air date
March 6, 1967 (1967-03-06)
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
25 (UHF, 1967–2009)
Digital:
8 (VHF, until 2020)
NET (1967–1970)
Call sign meaning
AmeriCuS
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID23930
ERP24 kW (STA)
31 kW (CP)
HAAT290.7 m (954 ft) (STA)
336.2 m (1,103 ft) (CP)
Transmitter coordinates31°56′12.4″N 84°33′12.8″W
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitewww.gpb.org

Background

WACS-TV primarily serves the southern part of the Columbus market; Dawson and Americus are part of the Columbus market. The station's signal travels in about a 40-mile (64 km) radius from the transmitter site and also reaches parts of southeastern Alabama.

WACS-TV is one of GPB's most powerful stations, providing at least Grade B coverage to most of the southwestern quadrant of the state, from Columbus to Albany.[1] Although Columbus' GPB station of record is WJSP-TV, over-the-air viewers in most of the city get a much stronger signal from WACS-TV. WJSP-TV's transmitter in Warm Springs provides marginal coverage at best to most of Columbus itself, even though it is 45 minutes north of Columbus. By comparison, WACS-TV's transmitter is almost an hour south of Columbus. WACS-TV also provides a strong signal to most of Albany, though that city's GPB station of record is Pelham's WABW-TV (channel 14).

All are satellites of Athens/Atlanta's WGTV, the network's flagship station. They simulcast an identical broadcast schedule with no local content.

Digital programming

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming
25.11080i16:9WACS-TVMain GPB programming / PBS
25.2480iCreateCreate
25.3KnowledgeGPB Knowledge
25.4KidsPBS Kids

[2]

Tower destruction

In 2007, the station's broadcast tower was severely damaged by one of several tornadoes that struck the region during a major outbreak on March 1. The tornado, rated EF3, went on to cause serious destruction in Americus.[3] Viewers continued to receive GPB directly via cable or satellite, or over the air via neighboring GPB stations WJSP or WABW, while GPB worked to replace the tower and the transmitter building upon which it had fallen. This was finally completed in early May 2008.

During the 15-month tower repair, the station was at risk of losing its broadcast license due to a one-year statutory requirement for all over-the-air stations enacted by Congress. GPB engineers borrowed the transmitter from W22AC in Hartwell to get WACS back on the air before the end of February 2008.

References
  1. Archived 1 October 2019 at facebook.com [Error: unknown archive URL]
  2. RabbitEars TV Query for WACS
  3. Archived 6 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine
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